Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: dconnor@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com (Daren Connor) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: I AM DISGUSTED! Message-ID: Date: 17 May 91 06:19:33 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino Lines: 49 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I though this article might shed a little light on how this report is being received. This is from the San Jose Mercury News (from the Los Angeles Times) 5/11/91: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHURCH REJECTION SEX REPORT With uparalleled outcry, half of the Presbyterian Church (USA) regional bodies have urged the denomination's annual convention to reject a revolutionary proposal on sexuality that has shaken the normally placid denomination, making its apporval unlikely. Many Presbyterians do not even want the proposal studied further, fearing that they would be perceived as the first mainline Christian denomination to look favorably upon such things as unmarried couples living together and homosexual relationships. By Tuesday, 86 presbyteries out of 171 had registered negative reactions, especially to the recommended blessing of "responsible...joyful caring" intercourse outside of marriage for teens and homosexuals. "There is not a positive (resolution) in the bunch," said Marj Carpenter, public relations director for the 2.9 million-member denomination. Pres- byterian leaders said that the number of pre-convention resolutions, called "overtures", from the regional bodies had never been so high. Some officials say that the more than 600 commissioners to the 203rd General Assembly June 4-12 in Baltimore will be under great pressure to scrap the the 200-page majority report on sexuality that was three years in the making. A dissenting report defending traditional ethics, by six members of the 17-member committee, could form the basis for continued study. At latest count, the majority report had sold some 30,000 copies - compared with the 500 to 1,000 requests normally generated by committee reports. Many presbyteries, such as one in Seattle, urged the committee be disbanded for disturbing "the peace, unity, and purity of the church" and that the national convention reaffirm the "the only appropriate context for... sexual intimacy" is marriage between one man and one woman. The Presbyterian Church ahs been known for relatively progressive stances on social issues, but Carpenter said the current opposition cuts across liberal-conservative lines. Radical changes in sexual ethics have been opposed by eight former General Assembly moderators, the official who presides over the annual convention, then acts as a roving denominational spokesman for a year. "Three are very conservative and five are kind of liberal," Carpenter said.